Abstract

Silicon on insulator structures have been proposed as possible low-loss waveguides for eventual monolithic integration of both optical and electronic components. In this paper we present an experimental investigation of optical nonlinearities in waveguides fabricated by the bond and etch-back technique. This procedure consists of ion implantation, annealing, bonding, and dopant-selective chemical etching. Measurements at a wavelength λ=1.06 μm show the waveguide losses to be close to the material absorption for silicon (11 cm⁻¹). This allows the use of both pulsed and CW Nd:YAG lasers for the investigation of nonlinear coupling and propagation over distances up to several millimeters.

© 1991 Optical Society of America